Domain Name Highlighting aids users to more accurately and quickly ascertain that the site they are visiting is the intended site. This is particularly useful as many deceptive sites embed a domain name within the URL as an attempt to deceive users into believing they are visiting legitimate Web sites.
Figure 6. Image of domain name highlighting in Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2.
Figure 7 shows domain highlighting for a secured site with an Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificate. Note that HTTPS and the domain name are highlighted. Domain highlighting builds on EV SSL present in Internet Explorer 7.
Figure 7. Image of domain highlighting for a secured site with an EV SSL Certificate in Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2.
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 builds on the Phishing Filter technology introduced in Internet Explorer 7—which was designed to warn users when they attempt to visit known phishing sites—and replaces it with the SmartScreen® Filter. The SmartScreen Filter helps protect against phishing Web sites, other deceptive sites, and sites known to distribute malware. Figure 8 is an example of the Address bar when the browser is at an unsafe Web site as determined by the SmartScreen Filter:
Figure 8. Image of the Address bar when Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is at an unsafe Web site as determined by the SmartScreen Filter.
Domain spoofing attacks are simple and fairly unsophisticated, but common. Domain name spoofing isn’t always about banking scams; a sophisticated spoofing attack may spoof a B2B partner portal. If, for example, an attacker successfully spoofed a document sharing site, workers may inadvertently share confidential or sensitive documents exposing this information. Domain name highlighting helps block attacks to increase security and productivity.
Enhanced Add-on Management
Add-ons—specifically custom toolbars that users install—are the most frequent cause of browser crashes. Crashes due to add-ons can result in lost productivity and often require IT staff time to resolve the issue. Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 provides easier management of add-ons and enables users to manage their add-ons more effectively.
Being able to manage add-ons running in the browser is a key component of keeping the browser and personally identifiable information protected. The ability to easily manage and remove slow-performing or suspicious add-ons is critical to building confidence in users who are concerned about add-ons. Internet Explorer 8 makes it easier for users to disable an unwanted toolbar.
Data Execution Prevention
Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Vista introduced an off-by-default
Internet Control Panel option,
Enable memory protection to help mitigate online attacks.
This option is also referred to as Data Execution Prevention or No-Execute (DEP/NX).
DEP/NX helps to foil attacks by preventing code from running in memory that is marked non-executable, such as a virus disguised as a picture or video. DEP/NX, combined with other technologies like Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), make it harder for attackers to exploit certain types of memory-related vulnerabilities like buffer overruns. Best of all, the protection applies to both Internet Explorer and the add-ons it loads. No additional user interaction is required to provide this protection, and no new prompts are introduced.
The DEP/NX feature is enabled by default for Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 on Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), and later to help maintain security.
For more information on DEP/NX, see this post on the Internet Explorer Team Blog.
Conclusion
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 includes a host of new features, enhancements, and other improvements driven by real-world scenarios and customer desires. Internet Explorer 8 is a platform for Web innovation, offering business value, developer efficiency, and safety.
Be sure to visit the following additional resources to learn more about Internet Explorer 8:
Internet Explorer 8 Homepage: http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie8
Internet Explorer Team Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/
Internet Explorer Developer Center: http://msdn.microsoft.com/ie/
